The invention relates to the field of ventilation, heating and/or air-conditioning installations. The invention relates in particular to a motor support unit for an installation of this type.
A heating, ventilation and/or air-conditioning installation for a vehicle, particularly a motor vehicle, is generally used to distribute air in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
In an installation of this type, the circulating airflow is propelled by a motorized fan assembly, also called a blower, which is mounted on the casing of the heating, ventilation and/or air-conditioning installation on a shell of the casing channelling the flow of air generated by the motorized fan assembly. The motorized fan assembly comprises, in particular, a fan wheel housed in the shell for generating a flow of air therein, and a motor support unit comprising an electric motor capable of rotating the fan wheel and a motor support. Conventionally, the motor is controlled by a control module.
The motor support is generally secured to the casing of the heating, ventilation and/or air-conditioning installation. According to a known solution, the motor support also carries the control module.
In general, it is the motor support that makes it possible to mount the motor support unit on the casing of the heating, ventilation and/or air-conditioning installation, more precisely on the shell.
The motor support thus forms a cap covering an opening of the shell on a side thereof.
The motor support is thus critical in terms of the incorporation of the motor support unit into the installation and must meet a number of requirements such as, in particular, it must provide a seal against the risk of water ingress, it must offer an aeraulic performance, and it must comply with an envisaged in-vehicle acoustic noise level.
It is also known to provide, on the motor support, one or more cooling channels conveying a flow of cooling air preferably taken from inside the shell and conveyed towards the motor and, advantageously, also towards the control module of the motor. Thus, the motor support has, furthermore, to meet a requirement for cooling the motor and/or the control module.
Depending on the type of heating, ventilation and/or air-conditioning installation, the casing and, in particular, the shell, may be of different design. It is thus necessary to adapt, in particular, the motor support designed to be affixed to the shell.
Thus, provision may be made for vehicles to be available both in right-hand drive format, that is to say with the steering wheel on the right, and also in left-hand drive format, that is to say with the steering wheel on the left, and the steering column is in this case likely to be arranged differently and thus the arrangement of the elements under the bonnet is generally modified. This requires provision to be made for motorized fan assemblies that are specifically adapted to the particular drive version.
According to known solutions, the motorized fan assembly, and in particular the motor support unit, is designed specifically for each application. There is no standard motorized fan assembly or standard motor support unit.
As a result, it is necessary, for each type of heating, ventilation and/or air-conditioning installation, to adapt, in particular, the motor support unit of the motorized fan assembly. In particular, the motor support, which allows, inter alia, the motor support unit to be fitted on the shell of the heating, ventilation and/or air-conditioning installation casing in the motor vehicle, must be modified.
In point of fact, redesigning and/or modifying the pieces of the motorized fan assembly may prove to be time-consuming, particularly in the case of the motor support, which is a multi-function and thus complex piece.
This gives rise to constraints and requires the motor support unit for the motorized fan assembly to be designed exclusively in accordance with a specific choice pre-defined as a function of the motor manufacturer's requirements.